Agitating machine



i 1940- TQ c. PARKER, JR 7 2,202,564

. AGITATING MACHINE Filed Aug. 8, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 glvuwboa 7704005056: Flew/(2, J

AGITATING MACHINE Filed Aug. 8, 195a 3 Sheets-Sheet s Patented May 28, 1940 UNITED TATE PA E T OFFICE h w 2,202,564 I .AGITATING MACHINE Thaddeus C. Parker, Jr., Tampa, Fla. v Application August 8, 1938, Serial No. 223,74l

3 Claims.

" are placed into containers, such as bottles or cans,

which after filling, are inverted or otherwise agitated to effect thorough intermixing of the ingredients.

Heretofore it has been proposed to expedite'the mixing operation of ingredients in the sealed containers by placing such containers into the cases or boxes in which they areto be handled subsequently, and then subjecting the entire case or box of containers to an agitating operation in machines designed for the purpose.

The operation of these prior machines hasbeen subject to disadvantages, and it is the prime purpose of this invention to eliminate the disadvantages heretofore encountered in this class of machines.

It is an object of this'invention to provide an agitating machine capable of receiving a case or vbox full of bottles or cans and to impart to' such case orbox and its contents a rockingmotion effective to achieve thorough mixing of the contents. I

It is a further objectof the invention to provide a machine of the type described which is so simple and inexpensive in its construction that it is available for use in small bottling plants, while at the same time its operation, is so effected as to make the use of a plurality ;of such machines desirable in larger establishments.

. It is a further object of the invention to provide a machine Whose'operation involves a minimum of operator effort, and in which means is provided for holding the contents in an open sided box. or case securely and automatically during the agitating movement.

Other important and useful advantages of the invention will appear from a reading of the detailed description in connection with the drawings forming a part hereof.

In the drawings,- wherein like reference. numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, Figure l is a front elevational view of the machine; I

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the machine showing the operating mechanism;

Figure 3 is a top plan view; Figure 4 is a fragmentary view showing a case or box in position prior to the agitating motion;

(crash-56) trates the machine at substantially the end of the agitating motion;

-Figure 6 is'a transverse vertical sectional View of the box or case receiving basket and associated mechanism; and

Figure '7 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the box receivingbasket and its associated mechanism. With more detailed reference to the drawings it will be observed that the machine comprises generally, a framework 10 upon which is supported a case orbox receiving basket [2. The framework l0 comprises base members M to which are'secured uprights 16 at onev side and a second set 'of'uprights H3 at the opposite side thereof.

The uprights l6 and 18' are joined at their upper ends bymeans of angle bars 20 and 22,

respectively. Cross braces 24 maybe employed 7 between the several uprights for the purpose of adding strength to the structure. The case or box receiving basket I? is supported for rocking motion on rotatable shafts 26 and 28 which are supported in bearing blocks 30 and 32 which are attached to the angle bars 20 and 22, respectively.

It may be desirable to use a single shaft seated in'nthe bearings 30 and 32, which shaft may be provided with a crank arm on which the basket f'structure maybe secured. On the other hand, the structure illustrated in the drawings may be employed. In this structure a hanger 34 is fixed [tothe shaft 28 at one side of the frame, and a simi-larhanger 36 is fixedto the shaft 26 at the opposite side of the frame. The hangers 34 and ".36 have their free lower ends connected by means of a supporting member 38. I

Attached to thesuporting member 38 is a box or case -enclosing structure of the basket. This structure comprises a plurality of straps 40 extending in a vertical direction, and one or more joiningstraps 42 extending in a horizontal direction around the edge of the basket. The horizontal strap is attached to the vertical straps "'40 and alsoto the hangers 34 and at the points of contact therewith.

Each of the vertical straps extends upwardly at the rear of the basket to the heighth of a conventional can or bottle case. The ends of the straps 40at the front of the basket terminate at a point not substantially above the horizontal strap 42, which is located at a heighth equal to about half the heighth of a standard can or bottle case. To the rear upwardly extending ends Figure 5 is .a view similar to Figure 4 and illusof the vertical straps 40 is hinged a cover 44 which is adapted to close the open side of a case placed within the basket, as will be more fully pointed out hereinafter.

The basket may be rocked in any desired manner, either manually or by power. Whatever method of operation is chosen, it is highly desirable that the basket be rocked toward the rear of the machine, that is, away from the operator. To the end that such rocking operation may take place, means has been provided for effecting the movement as shown in the drawings, wherein a sprocket wheel 36 is shown attached to the extending end of the shaft 26. of the frame H! is a treadle 48 which is pivoted on the rear upright It by means of a, pivot ,pin

G. The treadle has attached-thereto asprocket chain 52 which is passed around the sprocket wheel 46 from the rear to the front thereof The opposite end of the sprocket chain 52 is attached tothe base i i by means of a suitable pin 54 and has interposed in its length a spring 56.

It is obvious from this description that i the basket 52 may be rockedin a clockwise direction simply by depressing the treadle 48, anclthat the same will be returned to its normal upright position by thespring ffitwhen the treadle 4 3 is released. This mode of operation provides a very desirable safety factor in that when the case is rocked away from an operator standing in front of the machine, he is protected against injury by flying glass should one or more of the bottles within the case break during the agitating movement. Furthermore, by means of the treadle operation, the operators hands are free to control the placing and the removal of cases from the basket.

This invention provides a simple and automatically operable means for closing the open face of a case or box placed within the basket 2. The lid or cover 44 has associated therewith means for bringing the same downward into contact witha case-or box placed within the basket, and also means operable to open the lid as the basket is being returned to its normal upright position. Theimeans herein-disclosed comprise a pair of sinuous lower guideways 58 which are fixed to the frame at each extremity of the case basket, and a pair of correspondingly curved but shorter upper guideways 68 which are attached to the lower guideways at their upper ends by means of brace members 62 whichat their lower ends are secured to the frame it].

The guideways 58 and 60 are maintained in spaced relation by means of spacing members 64, and constitute between them guiding channels I into which extends a guide follower 66 which is Near the bottom.

open face of the case securely and prevent the discharge of any of the contents therefrom. As

the basket I2 is returned to its original and normal position in acounterclockwise direction, the

guide follower 66 is again effective to raise the lid 44 from contact with the open face of the case. This opening operation may be assisted by a spring 10, which has one of its ends attached to the frame I 9 and which has its other end attached to a bracket 12 fixed to the cover 54 and extending away therefrom. v

It is believed that the operation of the ma:

unnecessary. While a single basket has been shown and described herein, it is obvious that changes in the size thereof may be made, adapting thesame to cases and boxes which vary from the standard size. This object may be accomplished by using partitions and separators within the basket to changethe size thereof as may be chine has been made clear in the foregoing de- 4 scription so that a rsum of its operation is here necessary to handle boxes and cases of various.

dimensions. Other modifications may also be made, in the specific construction, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is therefore desired not to limit the practiceofthe invention other than by the limitations which may be imposed thereon in the subjoined claims.

What I claim is: -1. An agitatingv device including a framehaving spaced upright standards, a shaftrotatably way whereby said cover is movedito open and closed positionduring the rocking of said basket.

2. An agitating device including a frame having spaced upright standards, a shaft rotatably supported by said standards, a basket adapted to receive a box or the likefixed to said shaftQ a hinged cover member carried by said basket, ope

'eratoroperated means forrocking said basket away from the operator initially and means for returning the same to its original position-,a

"guideway carried by said frame, a guide follower fixed to said cover and extending intocontact with said guideway whereby said cover is moved 1 to open and closed position during the rocking of said basket.

3. An agitating machine including a frame having spaced upright standards, a shaft rotatably supported by. said standards, a basket adapted to receive a box or the like'fixed to said.

shaft, a hinged cover carried by said basket, means for rocking said basket, guide means comprising an upper and alower guideway fixed to said frame at each end of ,said basket, a guide follower fixed to said cover and extending between said ..guideways whereby said cover is moved to open and closed position during rocking movement of said basket. I I

'THADDEUS C. PARKER, JR.

supported by. said standards, a basket adapted to 

